Macau casino stocks fall further as China intensifies Covid-19 measures

Macau casino stock prices declined again as mainland China extended its countermeasures against a rise in Covid-19 cases.

Macau.- The Bloomberg index that tracks gaming operators’ stocks fell by almost 10 per cent as mainland China expanded measures to contain a rise in Covid-19 cases. Wynn Macau’s shares fell 15 per cent, Sands China’s 13 per cent and Galaxy Entertainment and SJM Holdings by about 12 per cent.

The drop in casino operators’ share prices comes after China imposed a week-long lockdown in of Macau’s two neighbouring provinces, Shenzhen and Dongguan, preventing travel from those areas, due to a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases. Countermeasures have been reintroduced for inbound travellers entering Macau from Guangdong.

The number of new cases increased from about 1,500 on Sunday to more than 3,600 on Monday.

Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd has reported that Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the second week of March was down 37 per cent with the average daily rate declining to MOP114m (US$14.1m).